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Credit: Associated Press

Ryan Braun (8) is congratulated by Shane Victorino (50) after Braun scored a run against Puerto Rico during the first inning of Team USA's second-round World Baseball Classic game on March 12 in Miami.

Five times in a span of about three minutes, Shane Victorino came back to the same word: Unfortunate.

For six seasons, Victorino played against Brewers star Ryan Braun in the National League, and in 2009 and again this year, they were teammates on the U.S. team in the World Baseball Classic. So, on the night Braun was suspended without pay for the rest of the season for violating Major League Baseball's drug prevention and treatment program, presumably though not specifically because of his involvement in the Biogenesis scandal, Victorino was trying to come to grips with the news.

"It's a very unfortunate situation for the game of baseball," the Red Sox' right fielder said after Monday night's 3-0 loss to the Rays at Fenway Park. "It's individuals that have to take care of the situation and understand the consequences that come with that when they do things like that. As many people have commented, it's a cloud for the game, especially when it's one of the elite players in the game. People are going to say, 'Well, that's why he's elite because he cheated.' He's still a good player no matter what. But again, it's very unfortunate."

Victorino stopped short of condemning Braun, who released a statement in which he admitted to having "made some mistakes." Braun was the subject of an investigation into the potential use of performance-enhancing drugs last year, when he was named NL MVP. But an arbitrator rules that his urine sample was mishandled, and Braun successfully appealed a suspension by MLB.

"I've known Brauny. I've known him personally," Victorino said. "It's a sad situation. The first time it happened I put my support behind him. Now, looking back on it, it's kind of like, well ... . But you support your guys that you play with, support the guys that you know. Again, it's a situation there where it's unfortunate. Knowing him from a personal standpoint, I don't ever want to knock a guy down. But again, that's his situation to handle. I'm not going to comment about what he is going through or the situation that's happened. But he obviously got caught. He'll face the consequences. But the game of baseball will still go on."